Soft Boiled Sergeant

A story that offers this unassailable recipe for permanent wedded bliss: Don't never marry no dame until you find one who will cry over a guy like Burke.

Status

Original Publication Date

April 15, 1944

Salinger.org Rating

A story that offers this unassailable recipe for permanent wedded bliss: Don't never marry no dame until you find one who will cry over a guy like Burke.

Originally to be titled Death of a Dogface. Here, a somewhat gruff army man tells of a friend and mentor in the army.

I looked up at him a couple of times, I figured I seen about the ugliest-looking guy I ever seen in my life. Even in uniform Burke was no beaut, but that first time I seen him he had on a fancy store bath robe, and in the old Army only Burke could get away with that.